Film 45: Spotlight (2015)

Directed by:  Tom McCarthy
Written by: Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams

So the quest to see every Best Picture nominee before the announcement continued. Like I said in my review of Room (2015), I watched these two movies back to back. Still reeling from my experience with Room, I personally found that the impact of this film fell a little flat on my first watch. Hopefully the experience won't be so diluted this time around.

*Warning: Spoilers Ahead*

Spotlight is a film that portrays the true story of a group of journalists on a team called Spotlight at the Boston Globe who investigate and reveal a massive scandal involving priests in the Catholic Church molesting children.

The subject matter is shocking and grim, and the film goes to great lengths to handle both the controversial topic and its investigation with care. There is a realism at work here; almost every important detail, whether its mundane, horrifying, or somewhere in between, is expressed as an example of what had to be done in order to expose the conspiracy.

The film is a little clinical in this regard, but it allows the audience to absorb the information of the investigation and comprehend the heinous acts that were committed by the Catholic Church as they are, without viewing the journalists as heroes. As we learn of the priests' actions, the film doesn't use excessive musical cues or camera and storytelling techniques to elicit emotion; sure there's a little piano and a slow zoom out on the film's more poignant moments, but we don't get confronted with flashback imagery or spend a great deal of time focusing on the Spotlight team's reactions, the revelation itself is disgusting enough on its own.

The film also takes the time to go through the journalistic methods used in the film, every pertinent event and action are expressed so that as little as possible is left out, seemingly so that neither the effort this investigation was nor the full impact of its discovery are diminished. It also hammers home that these events were taking place in our world as the investigation is stalled by the events of 9/11.

This sombre yet sober attitude extends to the acting as well. The ensemble cast all bring their best to their roles; no-one overacts or behaves too dramatically, they all behave simply as you would expect people to.

The movie still leaves me wishing for a little more, though. There's one scene in the film that intrigued me: McAdams' Sacha visits a priest Ronald H. Paquin (Richard O'Rourke) and asks him about the accusations against him. Paquin freely admits to his actions, stating that he 'fooled around, but I never felt gratified myself... never raped anyone', and then goes on to confessing that he himself was raped. Unfortunately, Paquin's sister Jane interrupts and takes him back inside before he can elaborate. It's one of the most interesting moments of the movie, giving a quick look at the crazy rationalisations made by at least this priest in order to feel justified in his actions, while also suggesting deeper possibilities into the psyche of some priests, but it buries the lead almost immediately.

The Verdict: Spotlighti is a fantastic film that presents a terrible tragedy as realistically as it can. While the extra time spent on the journalistic details may seem dry to some, it adds to the film's credibility as a tribute to the events that happened. I highly recommend the film; the subject matter is important and contemporary, and the acting is top-notch throughout, all in a similar vein to The Big Short.

Rating: 9/10

Published August 15th, 2016